Disclaimer: We ( draksisreborn and zazabelle) own nothing but our OCs. Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm and Disney. Please review and enjoy this latest installment. So yeah...hello again. I know its been over a month, and we both deeply apologize for that. Between bouts of writer's block and very little time for writing it took a long time. But its here, so enjoy! We'll try to get the next chapter out sooner.
Rating: T
I… I couldn't even perceive to understand where to begin.
Words couldn't come out of my mouth, my face kept twitching from one emotion to another, I couldn't even pick where to start thinking.
My mind was full, and the paths just kept branching.
They were here, real other people. I couldn't tell if I wanted to laugh or cry or just start talking about all the thoughts I had never gotten the chance to share with other physical beings! The captain and the Jedi. An actual Jedi!
My stomach twisted a little.
A corrupted Jedi.
We fought. I ACTUALLY FOUGHT! Did I do alright? I followed the path as accurately as I could manage, but then the explosion he sent through the Force. That was something he wanted to occur, not the Force. It hurt to feel that. I remembered the times I had tried to manipulate the Force to do what I wanted, rather than the other way around. Man, I hope they didn't hear me crying.
And now here we were, walking through the forest towards my traps.
The light filtered through the trees, I could hear birds hopping on the wind from branch to branch, their songs rippling through all sounds. Streams bubbled through the ground and cascaded into pools or flowed on through the roots of trees. The air felt cool in the shading and warm in the sun shine. It was all connected.
My smile was stuck clean on my face, I think that's the best face to make right now. Behind me, Cenden and Soron crushed through the brush and leaves littering the ground. I could feel it, that everyone wanted to say something but they didn't know where to start.
'Do they know what this means that they found me? Nothing can be the same for either of us. Just the fact that they know this place exists means a lot. What lead them here? Had they ever been to a temple before? They didn't know I was here, but they were looking for something through the Force right? What does me meeting them mean for me? ...What does it mean for my future? Which path am I supposed to take now?'
All these thoughts kept buzzing through my head and more. I couldn't pick one to ask them, because I'm sure they didn't know either. Yet, at the same time, my mind just kept racing to try and pick one. Just one sound to make to form any words.
A large root rose up in front of me. Running towards the obstacle, I scale the root in one jump, laughing giddily as I did. As I landed I turned and watched the two take a far more calm approach to the root, taking a step up and then down.
My eyes met theirs.
I sighed as I looked at the ground.
"I honestly don't even know where to begin." I spoke, my voice mixing with the quiet sounds of the forest.
"I don't know either." Soron replied with a little smile.
"I have several questions as well." Cenden voiced. "How about we start at the beginning."
"My beginning or your beginning? I'm down for either one." I queried.
"How about start from when we landed here and our crew started disappearing, then lead me to the temple and then you attacking me." Cenden recalled.
"Sure! What do you want to know?" I inquired as we began our walk once again.
Cenden was quiet for a moment before speaking, "How did you do that? How did you make the Force do that?"
I stopped for a moment, puzzled.
"What do you mean? I didn't make the Force do anything."
"When we started walking here, I felt the Force was strong here, but then… I felt it attempting to connect with the minds of the others. They are not Force sensitive, it was hurting them."
My eyes glanced over to Soron, I noticed his facial expression shift for a moment.
"I didn't make the Force do that. The Force did that on its own. From what I understand, it's why this place has stayed hidden for so long. People, mostly bandits, come and go across the planet but they can never get here unless the Force wants them to. It sort of, attempts to connect with their minds or something, and brings back bad memories, things those people don't want to see. It drives them away. But you're the first person to ever come here that was connected to the Force and drawn here. So I don't make the Force do anything, I just set the traps to slow people down, and the Force drives them off!" I beamed, I had never gotten the chance to explain the Force like that to anyone in a long time.
"Wait what traps? Like that pitfall?" Soron asked.
"Ya!" I stopped abruptly under a shadow in the trees, "And traps like this one too!"
As I pointed above me, the two turned their gaze to the man swinging unconscious in the net trap high above them in the trees.
"Well… I guess that explains why we couldn't find Nek." Cenden muttered.
"He's fine by the way, just some sleeping dart poison. The instructions say it doesn't last long. Do you guys like it? My guide showed me how to make it with this holgram box in my library, although I couldn't get air compression down enough to make blow darts…"
"Its nice and all but can you get him down?" Soron asked.
Excitement bubbled up again. I jumped up and down a bit in place as I nodded eagerly.
'Another crew member to meet! I wonder which one this is?' I thought as I ran to my climbing tree.
His "aura" or whatever it's called, felt so familiar in the same way Soron and Cenden's did. Like deja vu from a dream.
As I climbed, I got a closer look at the person in the net. Reddish skin clothed in a lot of stained leather pieces. I noticed horns or something sprouting from his head with a few cuts lining the ridges. He had an excellent taste in trench coats.
"Alright dude let's get you down from here." I mumbled to myself.
Leaning out from the branch I was clinging to, I grabbed onto one of the four ropes wrapped into the carabiner and pushed off the tree. As the net descended I gripped onto the rope as much as I could. I hoped my hands wouldn't slip from sweat and I wouldn't just go speeding to the ground, ultimately having the unconscious guy break my fall.
Luckily that did not occur and the two of us reached the ground with a click of the carabiner above.
Soron and Cenden came forward to untangle him from the net. All I could think to do was sort of stand off to the side and watch.
I had read stories in my library before, about people isolated for long periods of time, forced to use their surroundings and wit to survive. But once they were able to escape or found civilization again the first thing they always seemed to do was find their loved ones and envelope them in their arms or embrace the rescuer or something like that. I always cherished those stories and connect the situation to my own but I never imagined the whole "being rescued" part.
Living in the present is hard enough without thinking about the distant future. I never truly imagined leaving here, or running towards the finders of my little island and tearfully embracing them, but now just watching these three here in front of me… I just sort of wanted to poke them. I know I just got punched in the face by one of them but that didn't feel as real with all the adrenaline. It was the weirdest thing, but just to reach out for a moment just to make sure they were real. Just to make sure I wasn't imaging the whole thing… This really does change everything.
The captain's ears twitched as his head suddenly swiveled around, catching me as I quickly pulled my hand back away from his shoulder.
I smiled a little and took a step back. I noticed a glare of suspicion flicker across his face for a moment before he turned back and dragged the crew mate out from the netted entanglement.
I held my tongue before I said something like, 'No it's fine you can trust me.' Because that doesn't sound suspicious at all.
"So… what's his name?" I asked as I stared down at the unconscious man lying on the forest floor.
"This is Nek. He's our engineer." Soron introduced as he waved over the body.
"I would be surprised that he got caught in such a primitive trap, but then again since I've known him, he's done nothing but get himself hurt." Cenden acknowledged.
"He does seem to be the universe's punching bag." Soron commented taking a step back as he crossed his arms.
I poked his elbow.
'They are really here. This is real.'
"What?" He asked.
"I… Um…"
I felt the Force gently pull me back. I reached for the brush to my right before pulling the branches away to reveal an unconscious warrior laying crumbled under some dead brush.
"Lerti." Soron said puzzled as he took several purposeful steps towards the grounded girl.
"Is she ok?" Cenden asked as we both turned to help her out of the trap.
"Ya I'm sure she's fine." I spoke with confidence as I leaned forward to investigate the trap to make sure that was true.
Looking closer I realized her foot had gotten caught in my shock-jaw clamp. The metal's jaws held firmly but not crushingly around the ankle, I hoped I could remember how to undo the clasp.
Before I could step forward to begin fiddling with the device, the captain stepped forward and simply pried the jaws apart as Cenden dragged her out.
"What did this thing do to her?" Cenden asked.
"So the clasp is just pressure activated and when you step on it, it kinda encloses around your foot and sets off a phaser shock and then…"
"You made all these yourself?" Soron interrupted.
"No. I mean, not really. My guide showed me where to find them or how to find information on how to make them and then I just sort of fixed them up? Does that count as making them?"
"Sure."
"Then yes!" I smiled. "What now?
Before anyone could answer, I felt a drop of water hit my nose.
I looked up as rain began to sprinkle down from the treetops. Rain storms? My guide's people getting here?
'This is the best day of my life.' I whispered in my thoughts to my guide as I threw my arms to the air, taking a spin.
"Let's get them back to the temple before we get caught in a flash flood or somezing." The Jedi spoke over the now pounding petrichor.
We walked back through the water and mud, each man took one of the sleeping in their arms. They were moving at more of a trudge than a walk. The drops ran down my face as I focused on the paths.
'Step here. Don't step there, there'll with be something under the mud, tree root on your left.' I looked up.
"Be careful when we get back to the temple. The steps will be slippery and there's a high chance one of you will slip." I warned.
"Thank you!" Soron yelled back as the wind picked up.
I smiled before I was pelted in the face by a flying stick.
"Ouch, sorry I'm focusing now."
We made it back to the temple completely slip free, the captain and the Jedi laid the two unconscious crew members carefully onto the floor.
"Think they'll be up soon?" I asked pacing over towards them.
"Depends I guess." Soron reported as he bent down to pull the helmet off the warrior woman… the Mandalorian I think she is called?
"I like her poofy red hair." I commented.
"I'll be sure to let her know." Soron smiled, "I'm guessing you have rooms here?"
"Ya! This building has a ton, but they're all 'up stairs' which means up that ladder." I pointed to the only metal rungs still clinging to the temple wall. "Oh! But I could go get some blankets and stuff! I'll be right back."
I took off for a sprint across the temple towards the ladder.
As a journeyed up the ladder and towards my current nest, I looked across the temple now. Rain poured through my skylight and ran in water falls down the walls and outcroppings as gray light drifted about through the nook and crannies of the broken palace. The kybercrystal veins of the temple had grown dormant since I left to find the others, I'd probably ask for those back on once it got really dark. Then walking into my room felt as if I melted into the shadows of another place and time, even though I had just been here this morning, and the morning before; the new people, the new ambiance, it all felt so new with them.
Grabbing a few blankets I had stored in my makeshift closet via the hole in the wall; I realized the little hole in the ceiling was leaking water right onto the sleeping pad I had found in this particular room… again.
"I really need to remember to move that thing." I noted out loud as I turned to leave the room.
I thought about maybe switching into a less soaked outfit, but I guess as long as the others had to suffer in sogginess I may as well join the party.
Returning back down to the lower levels, I handed them the blankets and they got to work wrapping up the others before sitting down on the stone flooring near them.
I just stood there, starring. Words again failed to describe what this was like. I began trying to piece it all together.
'Ok, so, my guide. You sent them here to me. But they didn't know I was here. I was here to be found, or I was here to find information that they would eventually need. What information do they want? Do any of these events connect to any of the prophecies I've been studying my whole life? Are they to be trusted with what I've found? Will it even matter to them? You should say something. Think of a topic Vis. There's too many. My guide? Any suggestions?'
I ended up just sitting down on the ground from where I stood.
I reached out to them through the Force, connecting myself with their own energies, just to feel. Just to get a sense of what they were thinking about.
Soron's feelings felt like they were descending into a torrent of thoughts and questions, he would probably think of something to say before I did, which didn't bother me at all. Cenden's thoughts hovered about, they felt like the vines of the wall of the temple, he too sat pausing at his words as each option for words ran out from one to another.
He suddenly shivered, the Force rippled around him, and he shot me a glance. Reaching into his pocket I felt panic for a second before he raised a simple intercom to his lips.
"Chol? You there?" Cenden radioed.
"I'm here. Enjoying the rain?" A gruff sarcastic voice came through the comm.
"Who's that?" I inquired above the rain drumming.
"Who was that?" I heard the someone copycat over the comm but with more confusion than my own.
"Long story, you and BX should meet us here. Just track our coordinates and bring the ship to a stall over the temple."
My heart skipped a beat.
"A ship… Over the temple?" I whispered. Thunder cracked above. I jumped a little.
"Is zhat a problem?" Cenden challenged.
"...Noooope. That's fine. That's ok."
I wanted to cut off the connection, I didn't want them to know I was afraid… I mean it wasn't like I was getting in the ship. It wasn't the ship's fault, but it was like I watched my fear run along the wires. He could feel it.
But Soron was the one to speak.
"Vis, was it?"
I nodded.
"How did you end up here? Where's your family?"
'Ohhhhh dear. Am I ok to explain without getting upset again?'
I felt the Force gather memories about me, holding me up.
"Uuuuuhhhhhh. Well… about like 5 or 6 years ago when I was 7… Wow has it been that long? Um," I took a breath to make sure it wasn't shaky. "The ship my family and I lived on… crashed here. I was the only one to escape. I knew it was going to happen and I um… I couldn't stop it. But the Force lead me here, and it's been ok. I've been ok because I've been here ever since studying the hologram boxes and learning about the Force! Which, by the way, doesn't seem like a name to me but whatever…" I cut myself off from continuing to babble as a frog formed in my throat and I noticed Cenden and Soron give each other this weird look.
"What?" I asked.
"Your vision." Soron marveled at Cenden.
"A vision? What vision?" I stepped closer. Visions were top priority in terms of interesting.
"When I was lead here, I had a vision that we would crash onto this moon in a fiery explosion. Only one of us would live. It was you. I did know you were here." Cenden explained.
My mouth drooped open a little before I wiped my nose and laughed.
"This so cool. Just that… you guys are here. And there's visions. And my guide brought you here… and just-"
I was suddenly cut off as a huge shadow cascaded over the skylight. I turned around and gasped as I saw a large ship hurtling right towards the temple.
It was going to crash right into us.
'I'm going to die.' I thought as I shakily tried to reverse, watching my doom draw closer.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I jumped and turned around.
Soron held onto me, he pointed at the falling death machine, and I quickly turned to see the ship over the temple wasn't falling. Just hovering.
I still stood stiff kneed watching it cover the hole of the temple like a giant umbrella.
"Does that ladder lead up to the roof?" Soron asked.
"Ya." I nodded.
"You don't have to come up there. Wait here and I'll bring the rest of my family down here to meet you, ok?"
I nodded again as I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding.
I watched the captain as he jogged across the expanse of room, leaving me with the Jedi, the engineer, and the warrior.
Turning to look at them, I caught Cenden's eye before he quickly glanced away.
"Are you going to be my Jedi Master?" I asked nonchalantly.
He gave me a startled look before it turned into a sort of scowl.
"I have no intention of teaching anyone anything."
"Alllrriigghhhttt." I sang as I smiled a bit.
'Should I try for lovable but annoying? Or serious and cunning? Oh! Maybe like a sarcastic sort of joker vibe? There's too many characters here already, I'm not sure which one to be. I guess I'll just stick with adaptable and leave it at that.' I reasoned as I thought back to all my story books and history complations before I decided to shamble over to the engineer's sleeping spot.
Kneeling down, I waved my hand over his face, my eyes closed and thoughts open.
His dreams felt calm, matching the steady pace of his breathing. I liked the look of the rain drop shadows falling across his red face and horns, it looked like a neat thing that could be drawn. Then I couldn't resist.
I poked his face.
Nothing happened at first, but then I felt his consciousness stirring. He twitched a bit.
I shot off the ground and backed as far away as I could as the man called Nek began to shift about in the blanket.
Cenden kneeled down to his side with a few joint pops, probably due to the change in the weather… Focus Vis, new person.
I heard the click of a blaster behind me. I swiveled about to face the sound only to see the woman called Lerti propped up on one elbow, her blaster aimed at me.
"Whoa! Hey!" I put my hands up as I backed away from the barely conscious warrior with a gun.
"Lerti! Stop! It's ok!" Cenden barked as he stood between us.
"Whass goin on?" Nek mumbled as he clutched at his head while attempting to sit up.
"This really is the best day ever." I laughed as Cenden moves aside and Lerti lowered the blaster. It felt like the beginning of a real adventure. I watched as Cenden helped the two to get seated up, the Mandalorian kept giving me this weird look while the guy with the horns just kept eyeing me with curiosity.
"Alright, several questions, where are we, what happened, and who is that?" Lerti's questions seem to come over more as commands.
'That's my queue! Go for mysterious again.'
"My name's-" I was cut off by the sound of clanking metal on the rungs of the ladder. I looked over and gasped.
"A real droid! No way!" Turning I sprinted towards the ladder where Soron, a fishy guy who must've been Chol, and a real life battle droid came climbing down!
I stopped halfway as Soron reached the ground. I looked back as Cenden, and Nek, and Lerti came walking towards them, all of us kind of convening at the center of the temple's main foyer.
The pilot, the engineer, the warrior, the droid, the captain, and the Jedi. All of them were here right in front of me. 'My guide, THIS IS INCREDIBLE! It was exactly what you told me was going to happen! I mean that's no surprise but I never expected this! How should I introduce myself?' There was no playing it cool with this, this was the time to get excited.
I bounced a little in place, "My name is Vis Alacritus, I'm about 12 and a half years old, and welcome to me and my guide's home!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Soron heard the girl's shouts of delight and couldn't help but chuckle. She was so much like Ava back in the day. He dropped down from the ladder and, seeing Vis practically zipping around BX, gave a small cough. Her head snapped up at him, freckles shifting from green to orange.
"Vis, this is Cholmon, our pilot, and BX-19. But you can call him BX for short." Soron said.
"Pleased to meet you." BX said politely.
Cholmon gave a gruff, "Hello."
"This is so cool! I've always wanted to see a real life battle droid!" Vis almost squeals in delight. "I want to know everything about you. The battles you've been in, the adventures you've had, everything!" She beamed.
"Certainly." BX practically purred, unused to the positive attention.
"I hate to interrupt," Cenden chimed in, "but would you mind showing us around your...home?" He finished, pausing with a hint of aversion at the last word.
Soron shot him a look. He would have to discuss the Jedi's attitude with him later.
"Of course! Sorry I got carried away, this is just all so amazing!" Vis said before skipping off, waving her hand for the others to follow. Lerti and Nek exchange glances before groggily getting up, BX and Cholmon supporting Lerti and Nek respectively. Cenden fell in behind them.
The ancient walls rose hundreds of feet above them, meeting the remnants of the roof and the large hole in the center. Rain poured through around the ship, shining as it hit the small garden of wild vegetation below, bringing bright new color to the plants. Vines thicker than his chest snaked along the columns and walls, filling in the gaps and grasping at the loose stone.
"It's beautiful." Lerti said.
"I'm glad you think that." Vis called. "This is the foyer for my guide's home and my 'skylight.' Not much here, but it's the center of my guide's home and connects to everything else." She beamed. Soron smiled back, her happiness was proving to be infectious.
"Up above there is just a ton of bedrooms and through that tunnel on the right are the remains of training rooms. But we're going to the real cool place." Vis said as she went off through one of the hallways, the rest of the crew following slowly, admiring the sheer size and age of the temple.
"How old do you think this place is?" Soron whispered to Cenden, who had caught up to him.
"Not sure. Given the size and amount of plant life it could be several thousand, maybe even dating back to the Great Galactic War." He replied, scratching his chin.
"And what about her? She's Force-sensitive right?" Soron inquired, motioning to the girl.
Just as he did, Vis' hand brushed along the moss ridden wall and the same glowing veins began to grow and extend along the wall, glowing this time in a strange electric yellow light.
"Whoooaaaa!" Nek breathed as he stopped along the wall, "How are you doing that?"
Vis laughed as she noticed the engineer attempting to activate the same reaction.
"Well from what I've recorded from the hologram boxes, this temple is laced with kybercrystal and sort of 'responds' to anyone with insight in the Force. Like, the Force works on the same frequency as the crystal, so me touching it is like hitting the tuning fork. I think my guide only uses our frequency for power in the temple like lights and stuff, but I know different types of 'frequencies' would make the kyber do something different." Vis explained.
She stood for a moment, looking off into space, like she was listening to something, before blinking out of it.
"Come on! This way!" She turned and ran down the hall, the veins following close behind.
They followed her through several more corridors before reaching a pair of massive doors rusted ajar. A gasp went through the group they saw what lay beyond.
"And this," Vis said, her arms held out in an attempt at grandeur, "is my favorite place, the library."
Row upon row of shelves and cases were crammed into the massive room, seeming to stretch on forever. Some held ancient data terminals that had stop functioning long ago, while others held row upon row of holocrons with a wide range of styles. Some were regal and ornate, others battered and beaten, some so simplistic they could be mistaken for paperweights.
The crew gazed above in wonder. They had been on the hunt for just one of these things for weeks, and here they were. Holocrons stacked and placed in every nook and cranny. Soron noticed BX immediately make a bee-line for one of the shelves and began rearranging the holocron's positions as Lerti attempted to make him knock it off. Nek picked one up and just sort of stared at it. What intrigued Soron though, were the scrolls stuffed in every space available. He reached out to grab one, gently holding the parchment that threatened to disintegrate in his hands. He slowly unrolled it a little, and although he was unable to read the strange script, he admired the flowing handwriting and designs adorning what he assumed to be letters.
"How many of these are there?" Soron asked, replacing the scroll.
"Honestly I have no idea." Vis said a bit sheepishly. "I think I've been through all the holoboxes and a few of the triangles at least once, but there's so many scrolls here I doubt we could get through all of them in our lifetimes. Plus most of them would probably crumble before you could tell what they said."
"There's so much here." Cenden said breathlessly, eyes darting around constantly. "So much knowledge. Most of the Jedi's history must be here."
Vis smiled.
"There's that. And so much more."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEE.
Any further conversation was cut off by an immense shrieking sound that seemed to echo about the library's walls.
Vis' body went ridged, eyes going wide and freckles changing to an fierce bright blue.
"What is that!?" Chol yelled above the noise.
Soron saw the vines begin to pulse at an increased rate, the blue energy appearing to lead to a single place. Rounding the corner he followed the vine closest to him, Cenden not far behind.
Soron soon found the convergence point. It was a hole in the wall, seemingly pried apart by the plant life, yet the dust was still settling as if it were just created. A cavernous tunnel stretched down into the darkness, a strange feeling beginning to tug at the edges of his mind.
"What is that?" BX asked as the rest of the group made it around the corner.
"No no no no." Vis began to mutter as she saw it, eyes still wide with what looked like...fear.
Cenden's jaw dropped as he saw it.
"Vis, what is it?" Soron asked.
Vis' wide eyes turned to him.
"The one place we can't go."